Acute Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke and COVID-19: Case Series

Abstract

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced since the World Wars; it can attack several systems in the body and has high complications and mortality. COVID-19 can cause venous and arterial thromboembolism due to immobility, high inflammation, extensive intravascular blood coagulation, and hypoxia. In this study, we report 5 cases of adults with COVID-19, hospitalized in Tohid Hospital, Sanandaj, Iran. Three patients were male and two were female. The youngest patient was 20 years old and the oldest was 55 years old. All patients had at least one family member with coronavirus. Fever, chills, muscular pain, cough, and tachypnea were present in all patients. Red blood cell (RBC) was observed in all patients at a low level. Computed tomography (CT) scans of all patients showed abnormal findings in different areas of the brain. These cases indicate that COVID-19 may damage blood vessels in the brain and lead to stroke.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Cardiovascular Health of Emerging Adults Aged 18-25: Findings From a Scoping Review

“…The grey literature search located no additional sources. Altogether, the evidence in this review includes 117 case reports/series 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 28 observational studies 10 , 11 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163...…”

Ischemic Stroke and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: The Bidirectional Pathology and Risk Morbidities

“…For all COVID-19 patients, regular tests include a complete blood count (CBC), platelet count, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), fibrinogen, and D-dimer. However, the risks of arterial and venous thrombosis as well as central nervous system lesions must be evaluated in order to reduce the negative effects and death of COVID-19 victims [ 97 ].…”

“…A highly safe and efficient telehealth visit is frequently performed in patients suffering from transient ischemic attack (TIA) for rapid ambulatory evaluation and in secondary prevention and rehabilitation of stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 ]. However, the increased risk of stroke in the COVID-19 setting may result in a COVID-19-related widespread stroke epidemic, necessitating critical care measures to prevent a stroke epidemic in people with COVID-19 disease [ 97 , 105 ]. Platelets represent a potential therapeutic target for improved clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19.…”

Exacerbation of Pre-existing Neurological Symptoms With COVID-19 in Patients With Chronic Neurological Diseases: An Updated Systematic Review

“…Initiation of hypercoagulability testing profiles of activated partial prothrombin time (aPPT), prothrombin time (PT), d-dimer, and fibrinogen with complete blood count (CBC) to rule out hematologic aspects in mind. This too is evaluated at the time the patient's stroke lasts if <4.5hrs or >4.5hrs with the use of neurovascular and brain imaging to look for venous or arterial causes of cardiovascular reasons and whether the stroke is ischemic or hemorrhagic [ 75 ]. COVID-19 in few studies has shown that, unlike other viral infections, it can increase the chance of having an ischemic stroke to 7.6% with very high levels of D-dimers, which reflects the high clotting turnover and being an aggressive thrombotic, further increasing the chances of ischemic stroke.…”